(1) Field of the Invention
A mail box structure incorporating existing mail boxes for facilitating collection of mail contents thereof in dry condition even in stormy weather.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The self standing mailboxes set out by the Postal Service on community streets for receiving citizen mail have two serious deficiencies. One of these deficiencies is that the mail box structure inherently requires of a mail collector the relatively cumbersome, time consuming and expensive chore of transferring by hand the mail from the mail box to a canvas mail collection bag. The other and more serious deficiency is that during stormy weather this hand transfer operation of mail from the mail box to the mail collector's canvas mail collection bag results in the mail being exposed to rain or snow which thereby often results in the mail becoming sufficiently wet to cause subsequent malfunction of postal mail servicing machinery, particularly the machinery which mechanically sorts the mail, and results in costly downtime.
There have been some inventions which sought to solve these deficiencies by incorporating a bag receptacle in a mail box in position to receive the mail as it is deposited in the mail box. These devices have in general not been compatible with existing mail boxes and would involve costly scrapping of the present large inventory of mail boxes in use and apparently do not have sufficient merit to warrant the expense.